Many companies think they’re doing mobile. They are sending emails that are optimized for mobile reading. They are running ads on search engines and other mobile placements.

“We’re reaching the mobile user”, they exclaim.

The problem is, too many of them still don’t have mobile-optimized websites. So there is a disconnect when a user clicks on their emails and ads, and is forwarded to a website they have a hard time using.

I call this the Mobile Disconnect, and it is still prevalent. I had my own run-in with the mobile disconnect last week during a holiday shopping event. The company’s email looked great on my phone, and inspired me to take action. Unfortunately, the checkout process was not meant for a phone, and I gave up before completing the purchase.

Before you even think about marketing to people on their mobile devices, you need to make sure you have a mobile site for them to interact with. It’s no use reaching them on mobile if they can’t take the next step on mobile.